5-12. Maze of Trazayuya (3)

Satou's here. As I have always lived in the gluttonous Japan, I've never starved.
The wartime story in the olden days told by my great-grandmother felt like some kind of far away events.

◇

The purple aura gushing out from the magician not only wraps the women and the golems, but also me.

I check on the log for once, it seems that it was properly resisted. I didn't get the skill because it was probably a unique skill.

"Well then, I'm expecting a desperate struggle."

While saying so the magician runs his fingers on the maze core operation machine that looks like a music stand.
Walls come out to separate the throne from the hall in the master room. From the map, it doesn't seem to be simple walls, but other blocks from the maze who have moved here.

I tilt my neck to avoid a magic arrow going straight to my face.
I look at where the arrow flew from, the former beautiful women who have turned into demonic figures are there. The golems which are coming here while flinging their arms around have the same atmosphere.
I could kill them instantly, but I'd use the golem to understand how the magician's unique skill works.

While dodging one, the other is coming.
While maintaining our distance, I concentrate firing the rapid-fire magic gun on a leg of the golem. The leg was destroyed after about 10 firings.
The third golem manages to body blow me. My HP is only decreased in a single digit although I don't know the exact value. Isn't it about as strong as wagahai-kun?
Its level is still 30, but did it get stronger equaling to twice its level? I defeated the golem in the large room with one hit back then, so I can't compare these ones with it. I should've have fought it properly.
Still, if the unique skill only strengthen its recipients to double their level then it's nothing to worry about.

I ward off the next blow from the third golem and make it hit the second instead. The second golem's head is destroyed, but the third golem's fist which it used to hit the other golem also got destroyed.
I see, [Limit Break] is just as it says.

Using this opportunity, the former beautiful women are unleashing magic arrows in rapid successions. The magic arrows are being fired from magic circles that appear in front of their foreheads.
I properly avoid them, but it seems that they can persistently home in on the target. I don't think that I could avoid them forever so I shoot them down with the rapid-fire magic gun.

The 5 of them fired a lot. They sure have quite the MP to keep on it.

The second golem which got its head destroyed is still able to move. And then, it points both of its open hands to me.
Don't tell me.

Slightly different from my expectation, the golem fires all 10 of its fingers like missiles. I can effortlessly dodge those, but they explode when it got close to me.
Putting aside physical damage to my body, my clothes became tattered.

The magic arrows that was floating and aiming on the air are rushing to me, fired by the former beautiful women.

The golem which match its timing with the arrows attack approaches me with its fist. The first to reach is the fist.
Since I'm afraid the gun is affected by the explosion earlier, I'm not going to use it.

I jump on the golem fist and make it as foothold, but the arrows are going to hit me.

I unfasten my mantle with the quickdressing skill, and fling it to the nearby pillar to change my trajectory--

--I managed to evade the arrows and the fist.

The arrows pierced the golem but it only reduced its HP by less than 10%. Even if they hit me, they'd only do little damage but I hate pain.

Rather than that, the former beautiful women's states are strange. How do I say it, their movements are now looking more like zombies than demons. They're saying something like "Uuu~", or "Aaa~", painfully so yet they keep shooting the magic arrows.

Since I'm worried with the condition of the women, I've decided to make quick works of the golems.
I throw fragments falling from the golem in super high speed. The golem is pulverized whole, don't even mention the letters on their foreheads.

While I'm throwing it, I see the figures of the former beautiful women being ruined in typical fashions.
While bleeding from their eyes and pores, they're unleashing giant magic arrows, no, spears from magic circles in front of their whole bodies.
If I don't quickly stun them, they would really die.

I impatiently fix my posture and face toward the women.
However, it was too late.

As the magic spears unleashes upon me, the women's lives also disappear. When their HP gauges became zero, their life burst over like some kind of game characters.

I do not take evasive action against the five spears and let them pierce my body.

It hurts.

"Why did you go that far."

I don't know if the girls', who were artificial life forms, senses of life were the same as me, but it's sorrowful.
If I think about the meaning the magic arrows which were too many then...

I destroy the remaining two golems who were approaching by using the fragment of the first golem.
Both the golem and homonculus are artificially made, but since the golems looks like robots, I didn't hesitate in destroying them. Deep inside, I probably perceive golems as machines and homonculus as humans.

After all the enemies have been eliminated, the hall with me alone becomes once again connected with the throne on the master room.
I set the title as that guy desired.

◇

The magician's applause is echoing through the hall.

"That was splendid. Welcome, new hero."

The magician's shadow brings me the holy sword.
I can't see the face of the magician with bent back because of the rainbow colored light emitting from the maze core behind him.

"Is your purpose a hero?"
"Indeed."
"Then, couldn't you just go to the Saga empire without doing this roundabout charade?"

I asked with harsh voice. I've been shocked with the tragic deaths of the women, my heart has become restless.

"Fumu, Parion's hero eh. When I went there, the hero had been sent back home."
"Don't you know that there's a next generation?"
"Ah, so it's already that season eh. However, the time is not right."
"What do you mean?"
"You wouldn't understand even if I explain."

It seems that he won't answer.
While having the dialogue, I'm calming my heart down.

"Hey magician, do you really only want to die?"
"The right answer to that question should be no."
"I don't want to have a Zen dialogue."

Hearing that answer, the magician is laughing like a mad man.
Two purple lights lines are sipping through his hood.

"Kuhahaha, I see, so you're a comrade who has also come from the land of the god."
"I don't know any such country."

No wait, I think ancient Japan has been called that a long time ago.

"Kakakaka, it's useless to put on false front, what did you pray, wish, and desire from the ruthless god?"
"I did not hope for anything."

I haven't even meet one.

"If there was one, then I had wished for a rest I guess?"

I wished hard for that one.

"Fuhahaha, such selflessness. Truly worthy to be a hero."
"You, what did you wish for?"

Yes, why is your race not human.

"Don't you know it? Don't you see it? Yes, I am the king of night, an immortal existence. What I wished from the omnipotent god was a body that won't die, a live without starvation, and power to strike back at unreasonable violence."
"So that's why you were born with that body..."

The magician shakes his head while spreading his arms horizontally.

"You're reading too far. The god had let me reincarnated in a body of a healthy baby. And arranged me to be raised by good parents who I could respect, and met a pure lovely spouse who was more than I deserved."

Then, why?

"I became too accustomed with my new life. Even though I was robbed by unreasonable violence in my previous life, in this life it was done differently."

The magician takes off his hood.

"I was prisoned by a noble who fell in love with my wife and executed under false charge. The first view that I saw when I was resurrected in this figure was the head of my whole family starting with my parents in front of the castle. And underneath them was my broken doll-like corpse of my wife..."

Tears aren't dripping on his white cheeks.
Purple flames are raging from his eyes sockets.

"Your pity is unnecessary. I changed the corpses of my whole family into undead, and along with the corpses of the people with the same circumstance as me, we bared our fangs toward the noble and completely destroyed everything."

There is no way for him to shed tears.
Because his figure is that of a white skeleton.

"I, who had completed my revenge, intended to depart to the next world where my wife is waiting. However, the blessing from the god cannot allow that. Even with the purification technique (Turn Undead), or with the holy sword that I got with much hardship, I wasn't able to die."

He said, "Truly god's blessing (curse)."

"Come now, hero. I've said all that need to be said. Stab me to bring my end! At the very least, kill me before even my heart turned into demon lord."

The magician Zen, no, Immortal King (No-Life King) Zen, said so.<TLN: No-Life King is a direct katakana translation from the author so there's no other interpretation possible>

Accepting those words filled with insanity, I pull out the holy sword, Gjallarhorn.
It's a curious sword with drill-shaped edges.

I raise the sword as if praying, then stab No-Life King Zen with all my might.

"Kuha, kuhahaha. Ena, my other half of wings. I'm going to you now..."

Zen's body is destroyed by crumbling into dust.
The robe falls and spreads out on the ground.